Arkansas-Belgian Blue Whetstone

Dimensions: 100mm x 40mm - Supplied in a denim bag.

One face is Soft Arkansas (600 grit), one face is Belgian Blue Whetstone (BBW) (4000 grit)

The Soft Arkansas stone is made of a stone called novaculite.

This stone is quarried from the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Made of almost pure silica, the stone makes a great surface for sharpening knives and tools.

It is an all-purpose stone used by woodcarvers, sportsmen, butchers, commercial knife sharpeners and in the home.

This stone is used by people who desire keen, sharp edge on their knives and tools in a minimum amount of time.

Free UK delivery on all orders over £40

Sharpening expert, Joe Talmadge has this to say about Arkansas stone:

'The time-honored stone is the arkansas stone. Soft arkansas stones provide the coarser grits, with harder stones providing finer grits. Many people use oil on these stones, ostensibly to float the steel particles and keep them from clogging the stone. John Juranitch has popularized the notion that oil should absolutely not be used when sharpening, and indeed results from people using arkansas stones without oil have been very positive. However, if you have ever used oil on your arkansas stone, you need to continue using it, or it will clog. If you never put oil on your arkansas stone, you will never need to.'

Read more from Joe here: Joe Talmadge - sharpening FAQ

The Belgian Blue Whetstone is often compared to a 4000 grit whetstone, using the Japanese grit system, but it must be borne in mind that it is a natural product, and therefore no one stone is 100% identical to another. The grit rating is given purely for information, and tells you little about the specific characteristics of the stone. The advantage compared to other whetstones is: BBW sharpens very finely and very quickly. No other whetstone possesses this combination.

It is recommended that you do not use oil with these stones.

We import this stone from the sole-producers: Ardennes Coticule